Final Fantasy IV is certainly part of my best memories when it concerns a RPG - after all, it was my first one.

I'm quite excited to hear about this new title but at the same time I'm unsure if I'll want to play it. I wouldn't want it to destroy my perception of FFIV, so I'm hoping for everyone that this additional chapter will be measurable to the first one.

Why would a sequel ruin how much you liked the original? I thought Shadow Hearts 3 was terrible, but 2 is still one of the better PS2 RPG's I've played. Suikoden 4 was less than great, but I still think the series is amazing.

Why would a sequel ruin how much you liked the original? I thought Shadow Hearts 3 was terrible, but 2 is still one of the better PS2 RPG's I've played. Suikoden 4 was less than great, but I still think the series is amazing.

If FF4: The After doesn't fit your bill, forget about it.

Exactly what I was going to say. I was even going to give the SH example. Even better, did playing FFX-2 ruin the time you spend with FFX? It's a different game, it doesn't change the things that were great in the original.

They can throw dumb plot twists that cheapen the whole thing, and unlike SH3 it's directly tied. Plus even if you conciously know it shouldn't affect your feelings for other releases, you can't necessarily keep that 'this is cheapened' feel from arising.

Sometimes a sequel can cheapen an overall experience. For example, The Lion King was one of Disney's best movies. Then they had a Lion King 3 which shows how Timon and Pumbaa were there the whole time, and it really cheapened some of the scenes. Like in the beginning of Lion King, it was a beautiful scene where all the animals bowed when Simba was presented. In 3,

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it was shown that the animals didn't bow, but fainted because Pumbaa farted.

Cheapened the scene. I could not accept that tripe as canon. I wish I didn't have to see it, but when I was teaching kindergarten, that was one of the "movie day" movies so I f'n *had* to see it.

In much the same way, it's tough for some people to accept, say, FFX-2 as canon. But depending on how much stock you hold in the series, it's easy or difficult to dismiss. FFX-2 was, to put it lightly, fluff. Not a bad game (I'm one of the few out there who actually LIKED the music) but fluff compared to its predecessor.

They can throw dumb plot twists that cheapen the whole thing, and unlike SH3 it's directly tied. Plus even if you conciously know it shouldn't affect your feelings for other releases, you can't necessarily keep that 'this is cheapened' feel from arising.

Oh, and a replay was enough to ruin FFIV for me.

God you're becoming a bitter old fart, Gregg. :P First Xenogears, now FFIV? I don't even like FFIV that much to begin with, but it's not like it's a bad game.

God you're becoming a bitter old fart, Gregg. :P First Xenogears, now FFIV? I don't even like FFIV that much to begin with, but it's not like it's a bad game.

I should clarify: It's still a pretty fun game and hardly something I'd tell people to stay away from, but the story's comically melodramatic. Not something to hold against the game really, it tried harder than most games at its time and blew me away then, but I wouldn't count it as one of my favorite FFs now, though I'd probably still prefer to replay it than most. At least as long as it's not the DS version anyway, that was slowed down way too much.

In hindsight, I admit the word 'ruin' was a bit too strong, but it was in reply to someone worrying that The After Years would ruin FFIV for him, and story/characters would be the way it'd do so.

Edit: And now I read up past Mark's post! Yeah, Neal showed a great example of where a dumb followup cheapens the prequel. And FFX-2 is very much guilty of the same crap:

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The best ending has Tidus coming back, when FFX was remarkable for being a JRPG that actually offed the protagonist, and despite foreshadowing this for a long time didn't contrive a way out of it. Until the sequel hit.Of course there was that scene after the credits, but leaving it ambiguous would've been for the best.

Generally, I find sequels attached to a finished story, especially one without potential to continue is a really terrible idea. It's not always so, but I can't think of any positive examples right now. Maybe Shadow Hearts: Covenant, but that arguably cheapened a villain.

Sometimes a sequel can cheapen an overall experience. For example, The Lion King was one of Disney's best movies. Then they had a Lion King 3 which shows how Timon and Pumbaa were there the whole time, and it really cheapened some of the scenes. Like in the beginning of Lion King, it was a beautiful scene where all the animals bowed when Simba was presented. In 3,

Code:

it was shown that the animals didn't bow, but fainted because Pumbaa farted.

Cheapened the scene. I could not accept that tripe as canon. I wish I didn't have to see it, but when I was teaching kindergarten, that was one of the "movie day" movies so I f'n *had* to see it.

You're kidding right? That's just... Damn. It's not only the fact that it is ridiculous. Anyone who watched that scene knows that that isn't what happened, it is shown very clearly that the animals are bowing. Who comes up with stuff like that? They can't just pretend that things happened differently in the previous film and expect people to buy it. It's a friggin' insult to the people watching it. Damn, that pissed me off. OK, I admit it, this level of stupidity can affect your overall perception of a franchise.

DC, it was actually titled Lion King 1 1/2. It was quite the abomination.

FFIV was the BEST GAME EVER when I played it when it first came out. I have not played it since, besides dabbling in the DS release. I'm not really sure I want to screw with those memories too much, so this "After Years" thing has me troubled. I might get it if its cheap enough, but I won't expect anything great.